Particle counters have been used for years in defense applications to assure quality manufacturing and for cleanroom specifications and certification.  Now particle counters are even being employed to help fight terrorism attacks. 

Recently, major defense contractor Boeing and a team of U.S. biological defense companies won a contract from the Department of Defense’s(DoD) Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) to design, develop and modify the ScanEagle Unmaned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Its mission is to carry a payload that detects the presence of airborne biological warfare agents.  This program was developed specifically to combat biological terror attacks (bioterrorism).  It involves using 2 ScanEagle aircraft in the pre-strike phase when U.S. military leaders identify a target suspected of housing biological warfare agents.  Are you wondering how in the world a particle counter is used to fight biological warfare agents?

The program works like this: the ScanEagle UAV’s fly over the suspected target to collect meteorological data to update predicted plume tracks.  When the predicted plume track is identified, one ScanEagle equipped with a biological collector and a particle counter determines the extent of the plume and performs particle collection.  This aircraft then returns to base where the biological collector and particle counter payload are removed for analysis at a battlefield laboratory.  The particle counter is incorporated into the front end of the aircraft and determines where the highest concentrations of particles are.  This cutting edge technology has the capability to locate, track, collect and detect biological warfare agents in a designated area.

We at Particle Counters.Org have been aware of defense industry applications for particle counters for quite some time.  One of our customers, HITCO Carbon Deposits, is a pioneer and major producer of high temperature material applications for the military.  This includes heat shields, rocket motor nozzles, jet exhaust protection and Carbon-Carbon braking systems for military aircraft.  As a defense component manufacturer, HITCO uses the SOLEAIR 3100 Plus for both cleanroom certification and for their own Quality Control purposes.  HITCO also uses the SOLEAIR 3100 Plus to spot check for suspected contamination.

Another one of our valuable customers in the defense industry is Aero Components, Inc.  They manufacture items for military aircraft such as propulsion system components, aircraft structural components and aircraft valves.  Aero uses the Lighthouse 3016 Handheld Particle Counter to spot check their processes to assure uncompromising quality.

Whether your application is in defense, pharmecuticals or micro-chip processing, we have the right particle counter to fit your needs.

This post starts off the “specialty” category for this blog. Specialty poarticle counters include surface particle counters, wafer pod units as well as manifold particle systems. If you have questions, comments or would like to discuss projects or other related topics, please click the Comments button below to make your post. Posts are approved daily.